TURKEY: Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu holds talks with members of Syrian opposition; Ankara evacuates families of its diplomatic staff in Syria after protesters attack its missions

Record ID: 280041

  • Title: TURKEY: Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu holds talks with members of Syrian opposition; Ankara evacuates families of its diplomatic staff in Syria after protesters attack its missions
  • Date: 14th November 2011
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) UNIDENTIFIED DIPLOMATIC FAMILY MEMBER SAYING: "We have been asked to return to our country. This is why we are here. Nothing bad had happened to us." CAMERAMEN FILMING CAR CARRYING FAMILIES LEAVING AIRPORT
  • Embargoed: 29th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Reuters ID: LVA9KSWNS18CCTKH5ZZ4P7AD6RGP
  • Story Text: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met members of the Syrian opposition in Ankara on Sunday (November 13), only a day after protesters attacked Ankara's diplomatic missions in Syria.
    Davutoglu greeted the chairman of the Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun and several other delegates at the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
    Earlier in the day the evacuated families of Turkish diplomatic staff in Syria returned to Ankara.
    "There was no problem when we were living there. We did not see anything. We are happy to be back here," said one man as he made his way out of the airport.
    "We have been asked to return to our country. This is why we are here. Nothing bad had happened to us," said another man.
    Despite the attack on Saturday (November 12) Turkey decided to keep its diplomatic staff, broadcaster CNN Turk reported on Sunday.
    Turkey condemned the attacks and in a diplomatic note called for a guarantee its diplomats in the country would be protected, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.
    The statement also called on Damascus to find and prosecute those behind the attacks on Saturday evening, in which a crowd of around 1,000 were involved, throwing stones and bottles before Syrian police intervened to break up the protest, Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency said.
    Attacks were also staged against Turkey's consulate in Aleppo and its honorary consulate in Latakia, it reported Turkish embassy officials in Damascus as saying.
    After cultivating ties with Assad and Syria for several years, Turkey has this year robustly condemned the repression of peaceful protests, fearing Syrian violence could spill over the border if it develops a stronger ethnic or sectarian dimension.
    Syrian opposition figures have met in Istanbul to forge a united front, the Syrian National Council. Turkey has also given sanctuary to Syrian military officers who have defected.
    Turkey is not a member of the Arab League.
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